As a mother of four, an aunt of a dozen, a preschool and toddler teacher, and a lifelong care-taker of children, I have learned a few things about the little people in our lives who can simultaneously delight us and drive us up a wall. One thing is for certain - they like to keep busy!
Check out these fun ideas, learning activities, tips, and crafts for the little kiddos in your care!
You’ll go Nuts over this adorable Fall DIY!
This makes a fabulous Fall activity for parents and teachers! Not only do the kids love to push the acorns though the holes, they are learning sorting skills, color matching, problem solving and dexterity and fine motor skills while they are at it! Try using this with toddlers and preschoolers as a circle time activity, allowing each child to have a turn “feeding” a squirrel with the correct colored acorn. Download your free template here!
Just remember to always watch mouthing toddlers with this activity as it can pose a choking hazard with the felted acorns.
Age: 2.5 to 6 (use supervision for mouthing toddlers, choking hazard) Supplies: • 9" x 11" box (or a box roughly that size with a lid) • 1 sheet card stock & printer • Squirrel template* (available for download on creating-bliss.com, or create your own to fit your box • Glue stick and glue gun • Razor blade or craft knife • Felted balls (for nuts); make them, or better yet, buy them already made! (Link below) •Acorn caps to fit your felted wool balls (Collect them as fun outdoor activity) • Tape (optional to prevent wear and tear)
Download template from blue link above, or create your own,
Print on card stock.
Glue onto sturdy lidded box with glue stick.
It will look like this!
Using a craft knife or razor blade, cut out a circle (or as close to a circle as you can get), making sure to leave a colored border around your hole.
You may want to add tape to the perimeter of your cut out to keep little fingers from tearing the paper away.
Squirt hot glue into an acorn cap.
Press felted wool ball into cap and press to make sure it is secure. Watch video below to see a full tutorial and see it in action!
Watch video for full tutorial. Best viewed in full screen mode.
Looking for another fun Fall toddler activity?
Check out this simple Dirty Pumpkin activity below for a cute way to keep your little ones busy!
Candy Corn Bonanza!
Check out this fun video with SUPER SWEET ideas for all things candy corn!
Included in this video are DIY crafts and sensory bin ideas for
toddlers & preschoolers.
1. Candy Corn Scoop for Sensory Bin
2. Cute Candy Corn Craft
3. Candy Corn Finger Puppet
4. Dyeing Beans for Candy Corn Sensory Bin
Download your free templates here!
Use a dry eraser marker to make your pumpkins "dirty". I used brown so it would look like dirt.
Pour a small amount of soapy water into a shallow pan or container. Give your toddler a selection of sponges and scrub brushes and ask them to "clean" the dirt off the pumpkins.
Recycled detergent caps and scoops from protein powder and coffee containers work great for little hands.
Let your children dry off their pumpkins and add more "dirt" with the dry eraser marker themselves!
Do you have preschooler who is learning her scissor skills?
This adorable activity makes the cut!
Best if viewed in full screen mode. DISH RACK AVAILABLE HERE.
Think those old foam curlers are just for hair?
Get ready to be surprised.
When cleaning my bathroom closet, I found an old set of foam curlers and I just knew my preschoolers could have some fun with this surprising craft supply! Chances are you have an old set of curlers floating around. Pull them out and see what you can create! Don’t have any tucked in a drawer? See link below for the ones I use in this post.
Fine Motor Skill Game
Looking for a cheap and easy way to engage your toddler while reinforcing necessary fine motor skills? Grab those old foam curlers out of the bathroom closet! Simply tape the curler bases to a cardboard box and put all the curlers in a bowl or basket. Have your little ones practice their fine motor skills by pushing the foam curler onto the plastic post. If you have a set of curlers in multi-colors, have your toddler practice matching the foam curler to the correct plastic post. You may be surprised how engaged they will become with this simple task! Toddler teacher approved!
2. Crayon Grip for little hands
Little hands sometimes have a difficult time grasping crayons. While chunky crayons are great, they are not always readily available. Help toddlers and preschoolers learn the proper way to grasp a crayon or other writing instrument by sliding the foam part of the curler onto the crayon or pencil. This allows for little hands to comfortably grasp the crayon wihile helping them to learn the correct way to maintain a stable position between the thumb, index and middle fingers. This is a game changer for teaching writing skills.
3. Creative Fine Motor Practice
Gather those foam curlers and some small wooden dowels and let your toddler do the rest! How many can they slide onto the rod? Can they build a structure with these simple supplies? This is an easy activity to tuck into a small pouch and keep on hand for a quiet restaurant or waiting room activity with the added bonus of helping dexterity and hand-eye coordination skills. Simple but fun.
4. Stamping
Foam curlers make a great, easy-to-grasp stamper for kids of all ages. Toddlers and preschoolers in particular will find the shape and size of the curlers make an easy and fun way to make art.
What can you create with foam curlers? Comment with your ideas!
4. Mini Monster Fun
How cute are this little squishy monsters? Little ones can make these with a caregiver’s help and older kids can manage this one of their own. Supply them with some googly eyes, various colors and textures of yarn, some markers, and a wooden dowel, and see what they can create! (Use the dowel to push some yarn into the hole on one end for hair). Toddlers may enjoy using eye stickers rather than googly eyes (which can pose a choking hazard). We love these eye stickers found on Amazon and use them in our classroom all the time (link below).
Above are the links to some of the products mentioned or used in this post. As an Amazon affiliate, I may receive a small commission if you purchase items from this site,
Watch the video below for this easy Apple Themed DIY.
Let’s Pick Some Apples!
Apples are a common preschool theme. Try this easy and engaging activity that promises to please little ones as they go “apple picking” without leaving the table!
Age: 2.5 (with supervision) - 5 years
Supplies
Rock candy sticks (avilable at most hobby stores in the cake decorating section, or here on Amazon)
Red, green & yellow paint, paint brushes
A pointed kitchen skewer, or any tool capable of poking holes though cardboard
A cardboard box. My box was a 9” x 11” shipping box, but any sturdy box with a lid will do.
An apple tree image printed on card stock. I got my image from Freepik.com.
Glue stick
Sandpaper- make sure to sand the bottoms of the cut wooden sticks to ensure there are no sharp edges.